


sleep tight, fist fight

by nighimpossible



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Huddling For Warmth, Multi, Post-Time Skip, Sleep Groping, Sleep Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 01:54:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20716169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nighimpossible/pseuds/nighimpossible
Summary: “He needs to stop listening to them,” Felix says harshly.“To who?” Byleth asks in confusion.“The dead,” Felix replies, a knowing darkness in his voice. When Byleth gives him a curious look, Felix turns away. “It doesn’t help.”





	sleep tight, fist fight

**Author's Note:**

> It's a big cloak.
> 
> Warnings: fooling around while all parties are not truly awake yet. In this fic, it is consensual fooling around however YMMV as nothing is made explicit.
> 
> Title from "Wake Up," by Two Door Cinema Club.

The cathedral is quiet, dimly lit through the cracks in the ceiling by a crescent moon, when Byleth returns to check on Dimitri. _Stubborn as ever, _Byleth muses sadly to herself as she spies the princeling with his hulking furs standing in the same spot where she left him. A cold breeze whips through the cracked foundation of the cathedral, rustling through Byleth’s hair. A chill runs down her spine as she looks around the holy sanctum towards the pews. Felix is somehow still there watching over their fallen leader. He’s been there since sunrise, Byleth is sure of it. It is strange, seeing the changes of the last five years in her students: Felix has gotten leaner and broader, though his scowl remains the same.

“Don’t say anything,” Felix says miserably as Byleth approaches. His nose is red and his cheeks are flushed, and as Byleth gets closer, she can spot as he suppresses the hint of a shiver.

“You really are going to catch a cold standing in here all day,” Byleth remarks with a raise of her brow. “You know, you could have joined us in the dining hall where it’s warm. Ingrid lit the fires.” Byleth settles in next to Felix and leans her shoulder against his. In most other situations, Felix would likely withdraw. Now, however, Felix leans in greedily towards the heat of her body.

“Someone needs to keep an eye on the boar,” is that all Felix replies, and he’s not wrong. It’s not like Byleth can watch over Dimitri at all hours—after all, she has the rest of Garreg Mach to rebuild. Remaking a home from sheer rubble is not as simple as Byleth had hoped it would be. 

Felix shrugs his shoulders. “With Dedue gone, he is truly alone.”

_Not so alone, _Byleth muses, looking over at Felix’s angular grimace. _But that loss still hurts._

Anger flares in Byleth’s heart. She was supposed to be there to _protect them_. With Dedue gone, the hurt is palpable. Annette cannot bear to walk in the gardens anymore. Ashe has stopped cooking. And _Dimitri _—

“Your face,” Felix muses quietly. “It’s like you’re looking for a fight.”

“Wouldn’t you like that,” Byleth quips, but she forces herself to simmer. This is not the time for anyone else to lose themselves to blind rage and grief.

“Sorry I missed dinner,” Felix adds. He shivers again, this time hard and full-bodied, and when Byleth tugs him close by the waist, he doesn’t resist her pull. “Don’t get any ideas. This body heat thing better be worth it,” he mutters, allowing the closeness all the same. Felix wobbles a little and eventually Byleth gets him to sit in the pews. It's clear he hasn't taken a break all day. It’s time for him to rest his legs or he’s going to be useless tomorrow for training. The small huff of relief Felix makes when he finally sits tells Byleth they made the right choice.

Byleth has an arm around Felix’s waist, which he grudgingly accepts.

"Your fingers are cold," Felix tells her frankly. "Are you sure you have a pulse?" They both turn to look at Dimitri after Byleth digs her fingers into Felix's side as comeuppance. The prince of Faerghus—_no, the king, he’s king now— _seems to be talking to the thin air in front of him.

“He needs to stop listening to them,” Felix says at last, his voice harsh.

“To who?” Byleth asks in confusion.

“The dead,” Felix replies, a knowing darkness in his voice. When Byleth gives him a curious look, Felix turns away. “It doesn’t help.”

Felix doesn’t talk a lot about his brother, but like how Dedue’s loss has effected the Blue Lions, Glenn’s death echoes across Felix in subtle but similar ways.

“This is what grief is for him,” Byleth says quietly. “We all deal with it in differently.” Byleth dealt with the death of her father by dissociating from the pain. Felix got through the loss of Glenn by throwing himself into training. Dimitri’s loss in Duscur left him nearly feral with vengeance. Now, after so much loss—Dimitri has become Felix’s feral boar at long last.

“He has a responsibility to his people,” Felix says sharply. “If he keeps on going like this—not eating, not sleeping—it will kill him.” Felix lets out a low, mirthless laugh. “And then what have we all sacrificed for—a warm grave?”

Byleth feels her brow furrow. “He'll come through, Felix.” Her teeth chatter as she finishes her sentence.

“Who’s cold now?” Felix asks with a smirk. Byleth just glares at him until he tucks her into his side. "Fine, come on." Byleth spies the hint of blush on his cheeks as she sneaks in closer, which is not exactly a reaction she thought she could elicit from Felix. It’s something to take note of for later. The warmth of his chest is a small respite. While their shared body heat is better than nothing, the cathedral is still frigid. 

“We’re staying here all night, aren’t we?” Byleth asks in defeat. Her warm bedroom awaits her upstairs, but somehow she knows it will get no use tonight.

Felix says nothing.

“Okay,” Byleth nods. She squeezes his hand in what she hopes comes off as reassurance. “All night, then.”

* * *

Byleth isn’t sure when exactly she falls asleep, but when she is somewhat aware again, she is wonderfully warm. She’s no longer sitting in the pews with Felix—instead, she is horizontal with Felix wrapped around her front and someone broad, long, and lean pressing up against her back.

_Dimitri_. Byleth’s breath catches in her throat at the realization.

Dimitri’s furs cradle the three of them in the rubble of the cathedral next to the pews. Dimitri has one arm tangled in Felix’s hair and another wrapped around Byleth’s waist. Dimitri’s fingers are long enough to dip dangerously down beneath the hem of her pants, low across her belly. Meanwhile, Felix’s head is buried in the crook of Byleth’s neck, his mouth hot against her skin. It’s—it’s certainly not a position she would find herself in with Felix and Dimitri during the waking hours, but Byleth is surprised to find how well the three of them fit together. Before Byleth allows herself to fully wake up, she shifts her hips slowly, and behind her, Dimitri lets out a low hum of contentment as he curls them both in close. The warmth of the furs is luxurious in the chill of the cathedral around them, even as dawn breaks over the horizon. 

“Five more minutes,” Felix mumbles against Byleth’s skin. Felix unconsciously noses against a particularly sensitive part of Byleth’s jaw as Dimitri’s fingers dip lower, reaching for her own heat. Dimitri’s fingers find their damp target quick enough, and Byleth has to suppress a low moan as she rocks her hips forward.

“Five more minutes,” a low voice agrees from behind her. Byleth shouldn’t be shocked that Dimitri is awake, but for now it seems that he has allowed himself a moment of humanity.

Byleth doesn’t dare turn around, simply sighs as Dimitri moves his fingers in slow, easy circles. She hears Felix give a small sigh as Dimitri pulls at his hair ever so gently. The tug is not enough to fully rouse him, but it does drive him further into their entangled embrace.

“Don’t wake him,” Dimitri commands from behind Byleth. His fingers begin to move faster. Byleth begins to understand that his words are not a warning but a challenge: can she keep herself quiet while he—while he—

It has been a long time for Byleth since she has been intimate with another person, and while Dimitri’s fingers began gently, they are now rougher in nature as Byleth gets closer to her climax. She woke up close to the edge, and the gooey thrall of her impending orgasm builds at her core until it’s too much, it’s all too much—Felix has her arms pinned and Dimitri is at her back, there is no where for her to run—

Byleth bites back a whimper as she comes, thighs tightening around Dimitri’s hand while her hot core clenches in waves. Dimitri withdraws himself as Byleth shakingly comes down.

“I said five minutes, Glenn,” Felix sighs, rolling away from Byleth and tugging the fur with him.

Glenn's name is like a splash of cold water. Dimitri is gone in a flash, back in his spot by the rubble of the cathedral. Byleth can still see the shine of her own slick on his fingertips.

“What the hell is this?” Felix asks from the floor, finally awake. Felix lifts up Dimitri’s furs and looks at him in confusion. “What did you—”

“You’re both fools. I don't need watching over.” He’s quiet until he adds, “And I won’t be doing that again any time soon.” Dimitri is looking directly at Byleth.

“Back off, boar,” Felix says, sharp and awake in a pile of Dimitri’s furs. “We’re here to make sure you survive.”

Dimitri tears himself away from the rubble to glare back at Felix. Byleth is certain that this is the first time they have made eye contact since—since before. Felix looks stricken.

“Animals know how to survive, Felix,” Dimitri says darkly. “I don’t need your help.”

“Then why keep us warm?” Byleth dares. She knows her cheeks are still flushed from their morning encounter, and when Dimitri’s gaze trails over her, she can feel his eyes dip down where his fingers once grazed. It's more a leer than a look, and Byleth blushes deeply. Still, she does not break eye contact. "Why help us, if we're such a nuisance?"

“I don’t know,” Dimitri says quietly.

“I do,” Byleth replies earnestly. “You care about us. Even though it hurts.”

Dimitri simply growls. "I care about nothing. The people I cared about are dead. Their ghosts haunt me."

"We're_ alive, _you fool," Felix barks back. "And so are you."

"You'll be ghosts soon enough!" Dimitri retorts.

“That’s _enough_, beast,” Felix sighs bitterly. Dimitri's hand goes to his lance and Felix's shield is out in a moment. Dimitri's fingers tighten, knuckles whitening briefly before he places the weapon back in its holster. His gaze darts to beyond Byleth's right shoulder.

“Professor?” a new voice asks quietly. Byleth’s head whips around to find a concerned Mercedes holding a few prayer booklets. “I didn’t expect to find you three in here so early.”

Felix takes one look at Mercedes before bolting. Dimitri simply shrugs back on his furs before taking his spot once more at the center of the cathedral. Byleth, for her part, leads Mercedes outside the main hall to give Dimitri some solitude.

“Are you okay, professor? You look flushed.” Mercedes offers a healing hand, but Byleth pushes her gesture aside with a small smile.

“I’m fine, Mercedes,” Byleth says softly. She looks over at Dimitri and catches him looking their way before turning swiftly back at the rubble. _A crack in the armor, perhaps. _“It’s nothing, really.”

* * *

Felix and Byleth show up to the cathedral at dusk. Byleth isn't shocked, as Felix has been surprising her in rather pleasant ways since her return from the dead.

“It was the first night of sleep I’ve gotten in a long time,” Felix admits. "Having him in arm's reach." He pauses. "And you."

Byleth's feels her confusion cross her face for a moment. "I didn't realize you missed me."

In a quick, decisive movement, Felix takes her by the hand. His touch is warm, and when he squeezes her fingers, it reminds her that she is still alive.

“I like being back,” Byleth adds, squeezing back. She turns to see Dimitri in the distance. Byleth steadies herself. "Anyway, it's the most human I've seen him act in weeks."

Felix runs his thumb across Byleth's knuckles. She shivers, but this time the cold has nothing to do with it. “Let’s go and leash our beast, then.”


End file.
